


Sphoeroides maculatus

by orphan_account



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Canon Compliant, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-04-05
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:55:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23497093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Akaashi's plan to boost Bokuto's confidence has unexpected results, but he's not complaining.---A twitter ficlet prompt that grew arms and held me at gunpoint til I wrote it
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou
Comments: 10
Kudos: 248





	Sphoeroides maculatus

**Author's Note:**

> i asked for mini fic prompts on twitter and one of them was bokuaka + puffer fish. it got really out of hand bc i'm a fool.
> 
> sorry for the lapslock, i wrote this whole thing on my phone in a trance

the rest of the team can say what they want, but akaashi knows that bokuto doesn't have bad memory.

it's just _very_ selective. and attuned predominantly to things about volleyball, owls, and for some reason, akaashi.

for example, bokuto can't remember the rules of exponents to save his life, but he can pull random owl facts off the top of his head like he's saying his own name.

_"and barn owls' heart-shaped faces actually help collect sounds so they can hear better and some owls even hunt fish! and did you know they have tube-shaped eyes?"_

the part that plagues akaashi's mind is the fact that bokuto can also recite information about _him_ off the top of his head. his favorite foods, colors, songs, and places are all filed away somewhere in his friend and captain's mind, and to be honest it freaks him out a little. but not in a bad way, because he actually finds it pretty cute. and _that_ freaks him out even more.

unfortunately, the "bokuto has bad memory" rhetoric has embedded itself in the minds of everyone who knows the guy, including bokuto himself. it's discouraging to say the least, and akaashi is well aware that the mindset is doing nothing to help the third year in his classes.

so he formulates a plan, with the goal of proving to everyone - but most of all to bokuto - that with a bit of concentrated enthusiasm he _can_ remember whatever he wants.

he approaches his captain at lunch one day with pointed, determined steps.

"bokuto-san."

"akaaashiii! what's up!" bokuto waves and pats the seat next to him.

"i have an idea," akaashi says. "i know you've been having trouble in math. and history. and your other classes." 

_smooth, keiji. very smooth._

bokuto whines. "do you have to be so blunt about it?"

akaashi ploughs onward. "i know i'm only a second year, but i think i have a way to help you build more confidence in your academic skills."

bokuto puffs out his chest, probably in preparation to proclaim that he is, in fact, _very_ confident, but withers under akaashi's deadpan stare. 

"if you're not interested, i understand."

"no no no! if it's your idea i bet it'll work!" bokuto says, energetic as ever. "just tell me what i gotta do!" his eyes are wide and genuine, big enough to hold galaxies.

akaashi curses himself for getting so flowery with the metaphor.

+++

the plan is simple: give bokuto something to memorize so that he knows he can do it. in this case, latin names for animals, an idea akaashi had after he and bokuto went out for dinner one night.

(bokuto had been chowing down on everything in sight, mouth stuffed with food and chopsticks reaching for more.

"you look like a puffer fish," akaashi said. he hadn't really meant to voice the thought out loud.

"oh yeah?" bokuto said before he was even finished chewing. "that's cool as hell. they're poisonous, right?" 

"you wouldn't be a poisonous one," was the calm retort. " _sphoeroides maculatus_ , maybe. i read about them for science. i forget the common name, but they live in north america."

"akaaashiii… that's not as cool.")

they start with owl names, because akaashi figures they'll be the easiest to remember. and once they get past the laughter at unfamiliar sounds ( _bubo virginianus,_ the great horned owl, _tyto alba,_ the barn owl), he finds out that he was right.

soon, bokuto is happily peppering the latin names through his usual tirades about owls and birds. akaashi tries and fails to conceal his proud smiles. over the next few weeks, bokuto develops an impressive mental catalogue of scientific names for birds of various kinds. each time he comes across one and remembers its classification, he shouts the name with a smile and palpable excitement dancing behind his eyes. 

akaashi is loathe to admit it, but a traitorous part of his brain tells him that seeing bokuto this happy is the best possible payoff of his plan. better than the improved test scores, even better than watching bokuto deflect the team's friendly jabs by rattling off a series of words in (only slightly butchered) latin.

+++

it's a cold, rainy day, a few months after learning scientific names made way for learning how akaashi likes his tea and how bokuto likes his hair played with and how they both have a quiet passion for low budget thrillers, when akaashi forgets his umbrella in his classroom. practice ran late, and extra spiking practice with bokuto ran even later, so the rooms are locked by the time akaashi realizes.

of course, bokuto offers his own umbrella.

and of course, bokuto's is lost too.

they sprint toward the bus stop, hugging their bags and praying that no important papers are irreparably damaged. at least, that's what's on akaashi's mind. bokuto is whooping and leaping over puddles like the exhaustion of practice never existed.

they arrive at the bus stop soaked and shivering. the sky roils with dark gray clouds, a few watery beams of sunlight struggling through. the two boys sprawl out on the bench, chests heaving and raindrops glistening across their eyelashes.

"whoa akaashi, your lips are blue!" bokuto suddenly exclaims. "here, let me warm you up a bit." he scoots toward akaashi and cups his face with warm hands. how they're still warm in this weather is a mystery, but not an unwelcome one.

"now _you_ look like _sphoeroides maculatus,_ " he says, squishing akaashi's cheeks.

a pause, then, "you remember that?"

"of course!" bokuto says, like it's the most obvious thing in the world. "i always pay attention to what you say, akaashi!" 

"maybe if you paid that same amount of attention in class i wouldn't have had to teach you a bunch of latin to show you how capable you are." it would be a cooler thing to say if akaashi didn't sound like his mouth was full of marshmallows.

"but akaaashiii… then i wouldn't have gotten to spend so much time with you!"

akaashi blushes so hard he's sure he must look more like a lobster than a puffer fish. bokuto is looking at him with an unreadable expression.

"hey akaashi," he says softly. "i'm gonna kiss you now if that's okay."

_of course it's okay, it's more than okay._

akaashi nods, and bokuto leans down to place a gentle kiss against his forehead. it's the softest touch he has ever felt. and the most anchoring.

bokuto loosens his grip on akaashi's face and holds his shoulders instead. "warmer now?" he asks, like he hasn't just flipped the earth on its axis. akaashi sends him a weak glare, then wraps his arms around bokuto's neck and presses their lips together in a kiss that's unpracticed and clumsy, but he can't find it in himself to care all that much.

they kiss again and again, cold and rain-soaked and smiling, and that traitorous part of akaashi's brain pipes up again to say no, _this_ is the best possible payoff.


End file.
